Britain’s top prosecutor sparks outrage by saying many men cleared of rape have NOT been falsely accused

Alison Saunders, Director of Public Prosecutions claimed only a small minority of rape allegations were deemed 'false or malicious' out of thousands

By Aletha Adu

10 Oct 2017, 21:09

BRITAIN'S top prosecutor sparked outrage after she implied that many men who have been cleared of rape "are not falsely accused".

Alison Saunders, Director of Public Prosecutions maintained that only a small minority of allegations were deemed false or malicious out of thousands.

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Alison Saunders, Director of Public Prosecutions suggested men cleared in rape cases are not necessarily falsely accusedCredit: PA:Press Association

The 56-year-old highlighted the difference between a defendant being found innocent and an allegation being "false or malicious".

Speaking to John Humphrys on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, she said: "Just because there has been an acquittal, does not mean to say there has been a false allegation.

"It means the defendant has been found innocent, but that does not necessarily make it a false allegation.

"When we did some research we looked at more than 5,500 cases and found only a very, very small minority where we thought there was a false or malicious allegation.

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The 56-year-old maintained that only a small minority of allegations were deemed false or malicious out of thousands

"We do prosecute people for false and malicious allegation and have done in the past and when we have prosecuted them, they have received extremely heavy sentences, quite rightly reflecting the seriousness of the allegation."

But she was keen to praise Britain's justice system, saying it is "working", even tough there is an increased awareness of false allegations.

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Ms Saunders comments come after John Humphrys said it was a problem that accusers in sexual assault cases had their identities revealed, while victims were protected by anonymityCredit: Alamy

She added: "These are really difficult offences to prosecute and for a jury, they have to be sure beyond all reasonable doubt and I think it is right to have a high threshold."

Her comments came as Mr Humphrys himself, caused backlash for saying, it was a "problem" that defendants in sexual assault cases are named publicly, while victims get anonymity.

The presenter insisted the "scales have been tipped a little too far" in favour of victims of sexual assault cases.

The 74-year-old received a wave of criticism on social media, deeming his comments inappropriate and "biased".

A spokesman for the BBC reportedly said: "John Humphrys explored in his line of questioning what lay behind the statistics published today and the Director of Public Prosecutions gave a clear explanation of the legal system."

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